ADMINISTRATIVE | Public Tenders: When Time Limits Run Despite Incomplete Disclosure of the Award

On 23 December 2025, the Council of State issued a ruling. In decision no. 10250, the Court addressed the issue of the time limits for challenging the award in cases where the contracting authority does not publish the successful tenderer’s bid on the tender platform.

The Court clarified that failure to publish the documents pursuant to Articles 36(1) and (2) of Legislative Decree No. 36/2023 does not, in itself, prevent the time limit for filing an action from starting to run. If, in fact, full knowledge of the tender documents is acquired following a request for access, this is equivalent for the purposes of the appeal, as there is full functional identity of the knowledge situation.

Such full knowledge does not require the complete availability of the tender documentation, as it is sufficient to perceive the existence of the award and its immediate harmfulness.

In the event of further and subsequent access to the documents for the purpose of obtaining full disclosure of the successful tenderer’s bid, such disclosure may only be relevant for the purposes of submitting additional grounds pursuant to Article 43 of the Administrative Procedure Code, but does not result in the time limit for the main appeal being reopened.

Newsletter n. 114 – January 2026